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MacBook Pro battery life in 2011 vs 2026: how much has it really improved in 15 years?

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MacBook Pro battery life in 2011 vs 2026: how much has it really improved in 15 years?

In 2011, Nilay Patel's video rundown test showed the 15-inch MacBook Pro delivered seven hours of battery life, a result we called pretty impressive at the time in our MacBook Pro review (early 2011). Fifteen years later, our MacBook Pro M5 Max 16-inch review showed that the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max lasted 30 hours and 46 minutes, more than four times as long. Yet the battery itself has only grown by about 30% from 77.5 watt-hours to 99.6 watt-hours.

The 2011 model's 15.4-inch display and the 2026 model's 16.2-inch screen make that duo the fairest comparison in terms of physical size. Between them, almost all the extra battery life comes from more efficient hardware rather than a bigger battery. Thanks to the standard power adapter jumping from 85W to 140W, the new model doesn't just last much longer, it also charges dramatically faster.

Apple markets the 16-inch MacBook Pro's battery as 100 watt-hours, but its spec sheet gives the exact rating as 99.6. That's 0.4 watt-hours under the FAA's 100 watt-hour limit, above which passengers need airline approval to fly with a lithium-ion battery.

95 inches. 66 inches. Apple has managed to fit a bigger battery into a body that's about 16% lighter and 31% thinner. Unless there's a change to FAA rules, however, efficiency is essentially the only way left to squeeze out more juice from the battery.



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